Monday, October 31, 2011

You can be the winner of this amazing kitchen appliance: The Hamilton Beach-Set n’ Forget 6 quart Programmable Slow Cooker with Lid, Click-in-Spoon, and thermometer probe.

Giveaway guidelines:

1. To enter the giveaway, just leave me a comment on this post using your name & a real email address (in case you win).

For additional entries:

2. Like me, CookEatDelicious.com, on Facebook and leave a separate comment saying you have done so.3. Share on Facebook about this giveaway using: “Win a Hamilton Beach Slow Cooker & Cookbook or KitchenArt Spice Carousel on http://www.cookeatdelicious.com” and leave a separate comment saying you have done so.4. Follow me, @CkEatDelicious, on Twitter and leave a separate comment saying you have done so.5. Tweet about this giveaway using: “Win a Hamilton Beach Slow Cooker & Cookbook or KitchenArt Spice Carousel on http://www.cookeatdelicious.com” and leave a separate comment saying you have done so.

That is 5 chances to win! Two comments will be randomly chosen on a number generator for the first & second place giveaway prizes.

Make sure to leave separate comments as each comment is a separate entry. This is a worldwide giveaway.

This giveaway runs until Wednesday, November 30th, 2011. One whole month of celebrating! So start your commenting now!

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Sorry folks this Contest is only for USA and Canada legal residents.

Sunday, October 30, 2011

This week on Facebook we are giving away 1 $50 Chili’s Gift Card and 1 $50 Denny’s Gift Card. Enter for your chance to win with WomanFreebies on Freebie Fridays! You have until Friday, November 4th, 2011 at 11:59:59E.S.TEnter to Win with WomanFreebies

Saturday, October 29, 2011

Hope you all had a great diwali!!! We had a great and sweet Diwali. I prepared lot of sweets on this diwali. This is my first diwali after marriage with out my parents in a different country. My mother was surprised to hear the list of sweets that I made without her help. Yes, i never prepared sweets on my own in India, always my mother used to prepare it for us. I miss my mothers food. Enough of the story now, lets talk about low calorie Puran poli. Puran poli is the sweet stuffing inside an Indian bread. It is called pappu purnalu in telugu. I made this with the help of paniyaram/ ponganalu maker.

For batter
Soak 1cup of urad dal/minapa pappu and 2 cups of rice for 6hrs or more and grind it in to a fine paste and let it to ferment for 6hrs atleast.

Method:
Cook chana dal in cooker/microwave with some water. The dal should look tender and easily breakable when you try to mash it with your hand. Mash it, if it is not mashed properly grind it. Now take a skillet and heat ghee and add this dal mixture to it and cook for 2minutes under medium flame.( Powder sugar if you are using it) Add jaggery and mix well. When all the jaggery is melted and mixed well turn off the stove and add cardamom powder and mix well. Keep this mixtuer aside and let it cool.

Now heat a ponganalu maker and add little oil in all molds and add a half spoon of batter in each of molds. Take very little amount of dal stuffing in your hand and make it in to a round shape. Repeat this kind of balls and keep aside. Now keep each ball on the center of the batter on the ponganalu maker and add 1/2 spoon of batter on top of the stuffing and add few drops of oil from sides and cook till golden brown on both sides. Enjoy hot!!!!! hope you like it!!!!

Friday, October 28, 2011

Bandakaya !!!!Bandakaya!!!!
Wondering what is this? in telugu oakra/Lady's finger is called as "Bendakaya". Thats OK but what is "Bandakaya", I always remember this word when I see oakra. It is the word my brother used to say for oakra when he was small kid. If any one ask him whats for dinner? then his answer was "Bandakaya" and every one used to laugh because in Telugu Banda means "Stone" and Kaya means "fruit" and as a whole it means a stone fruit. This is me and my brothers favorite rasam. My mother used to save old(hard/Muduru) oakra's and make this rasam for us. My father used to like oakra fry or curry but not rasam, for him they are always favorite and love to have them as a whole, not with any other combination. And now this rasam has become favorite of my hubby too!!! Hope you like this rasam too!!

Ingredients
Oakras-5 chopped to medium size pieces(old one, you can test oakra by trying to break its tail with thumb while you hold oakra in hand inverted. if it easily breaks then it is fresh and good for curry/fry. If it does not break that easily then it is good for this kind of rasam)
Tomato-1 large chopped
Onion-1/2cup
Cumin seeds-1tbsp
mustard seeds-1/2tbsp
methi/fenugreek seeds-1tbsp
tamarind soaked in water-1 lemon size
salt to taste
ginger and garlic grated/paste-1/2tbsp each
red chili powder-1/2tbsp
coriander powder-1/2tbsp
water as required
green chili-1(optional)
red chili-1
cilantro/coriander leaves- chopped hand full
Method
The whole procedure is same like you make regular rasam, but you will add oakra and tomato in tempering/talimpu and cook. First heat 2tbsp of oil in a pan and add mustard seeds, cumin seeds and fenugreek seeds one by one and allow them to splatter. Then add turmeric,green chili, red chili onion, green chili, ginger, garlic and keep sauteing them under medium flame till they are well cooked. Then add Curry leaves if available. Add tomato and oakra and mix well. Cook this mixture till the tomato is completely cooked. Then squeeze out water from tamarind and add this water to this mixture. Add red chili powder, coriander powder, salt and check for taste adjust it. Add water if required. Bring the whole mixture to boil and finally garnish with cilantro. I love cilantro in this rasam, it give unique flavor to this recipe. Hope you like it. You can have this with plain rice and papadam.

Thursday, October 27, 2011

Hope you had a great Diwali!!!!
I'm postion pics of diwali celebration @my home.
Now a days people are very busy that they do not like spend much time for cooking. I am trying to make easy and tasty recipes that we can prepare in minutes on our busy days and from last few months I have been posting different kinds of easy and tasty recipes. you can have a look. I like this yummy utappam with omelet on top, this is the first attempt for me and I am happy that my hubby loved it. i would like to make it again and again. No need of any side dish for this breakfast such as chutney or sugar etc., I also love this recipe because it is made out of left over Idli batter. I feel this is the best way to use the left over batter. Hope you like it too!!!

Method:Take the batter in a bowl and add water if required to make in to a dosa batter consistency. In another bowl break open the egg and add pepper powder, milk, onions, salt and beat well. Now heat a non stick pan, if your pan is not in a good condition do not worry, cut open an Onions and rub the cut surface on the pan. In this way you coat the pan with onion juice and pan becomes non stick. Take a laddle full of batter and pour it on the center of the pan and spread it in clockwise or anti clockwise direction to make it flat disc shape. you can add oil from side of it, while cooking , it is completely optional. If your tawa/pan is good then it will work woth out adding oil. If not oil is must, otherwise the batter will stick to pan.when the utappam is half cooked add the egg mix in top and spread all over it. When the utappam is turning to golden brown on bottom flip and cook it on the other side till it turns golden brown. Enjoy!!!!please leave your comments and follow my blog. hope to see you again.

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Sunni vunda/Sunnunda is Andhra Pradesh's famous laddu. It is very simple and you can just prepare it instantly. It is considered as the energy food. My grand mother used to say that it is must for the kids and teenagers. Generally Kids and teenagers are more prone to hunger than the middle age and old age people. This is because they require lot more energy to built muscles, bones etc.,for this deepavali you can prepare this laddu and enjoy with your family members.
Ingredients
Split Urad dal-1 cup
Sugar-1/2cup
Ghee-1/4cup
cardamom/elachi cloves-3

Method:
Dry roast urad dal till it is about to turn golden brown. Grind it to a fine powder and sieve(Jallada) it. Take the sieved fine powder in a mixing bowl. Grind sugar and cardamom seeds together and add this powder to the urad dal fine powder. Mix well and add ghee. Do not add all ghee at a time, first add half cup and mix well. Try to make a laddu shape by taking hand full of batter in your hand and pressing it hard to make it into a round shape. If you are able to get hard laddu, (that is it should not break if you pinch it slowly) then stop adding ghee and continue making laddus. If not add ghee and make laddus till you get the right consistency. The nice aroma of cardamom when mixed with ghee and urad dal makes this laddu perfect festival treat. For the working women I think this will the best choice to make instantly for this diwali. Wish you all very happy and safe diwali.

Monday, October 24, 2011

Yesterday I was browsing for chicken recipes and I found this yummy chicken recipe. This is really awesome and I made it with little variation that is I just added methi leaves to the curry. Methi leaves a good for health and aloo methi combination rocks. Punjab is one of the northern state in India. This curry style originated from that place so the name.

Method:
Remove extra fat from chicken and cut it to medium size pieces. Remove skin from drum sticks and make deep cuts. Wash them and allow water to drain completely. Now take a wide mouth skillet and heat oil in it. Add cumin seeds and when they start splattering add onions and green chili. when the onion turn tender add ginger, garlic, salt and turmeric and saute till raw flavor goes off. Then add Potatoes and mix well. cook by closing the vessel for 2min and keep sauteing in between. Then add coriander powder, cumin powder, curd, coconut powder and 1/2cup water and mix well. Let this cook under medium flame for 2min by closing the vessel. Now add chicken mix well and add more water if required and cook till chicken is completely cooked under medium flame. It takes about 15min to completely cook the chicken. When the chicken is done add methi leaves,and garam masala. Mix well and cook it under medium flame. Check for taste add salt if required, and also you can add water if you want more gravy like if you wish. After the curry is cooked garnish with cilantro and serve it. Goes well with bagara/ plain rice/chapati.

Hope you like my recipe, please feel free to post your comments. They are very valuable for me, you can even subscribe by e-mail to my blog, the recipes will reach your inbox. ThanX for visiting my space. Please bookmark it to visit again.

Sunday, October 23, 2011

This is my dads favorite breakfast food. I never used to have them when my mom prepared them, because of oil. My mom used to make pesarattu or green gram dosa. Today I am several thousand miles away from my dad, I remember all these beautiful memories when I prepare some special dishes like this. My hubby loved it too!! This time I had many without any fear, thinking to workout in the evening. Now coming to the recipe
Ingredients
Split green gram(moon dal) -1 cup
Ginger garlic paste 1 tbsp
Cumin seeds 1 tbsp
Salt to taste
Green chili to taste
Rice flour 4 tbsp
Pudina/ mint leaves fresh 1/4 cup chopped
Coriander leaves/ cilantro 1/4 cup chopped
Baking powder 1/2 tbsp
Oil for deep fry
Method

Soak split green gram( pesara pappu) over night in water. Next day filter all the water completely and add this to mixe jar. To the mixe jar add ginger garlic paste, salt, green chili and cumin seeds. Grind coarsely with out adding water. The consistency of the batter should be very tight. Take this mixture in a bowl and add rice flour, mint leaves, turmeric, cilantro, baking powder and onions. Mix all the ingredients together. Heat oil for deep fry in a pan. Now take small lemon size batter in hand and make it to flat disc shape in a wet cloth or on a plastic bag and make a hole. This way you can get filters in good shape. Now carefully invert the plastic cover or wet cloth to so that the batter will fall in to oil. Care should be taken while dropping the batter you should hold your hand minimum 3-4 inches away from the pan, and also watch out for oil spills when batter fell into oil. Fry it till golden brown on both sides. Enjoy with palli chutney or with curd/ yogurt like me. Hope you like it. Please Leave your comment before leaving it is very valuable for me and keep visiting.

Saturday, October 22, 2011

Omelette and pappu, omelette and chapati, omelet and bread..what a flavorful combination!!!!
I wanna make some different omelette from a regular one. I was having mashed potato let over after preparing filling for my other innovation Potato stuffed paniyaram. I seasoned this potato and added to egg to make this wonderful omelet. I bet once you make it, you will do it again and again. Now coming to the recipe.

Take a mixing bowl and add all the ingredients except egg and mix well. Finally break open egg and add it to the bowl and mix all the ingredients together thoroughly and whisk them atleast for 30sec. Heat non stick pan and add 2tbsp of oil and pour this mixture on to the pan spread it all over by rotating the pan. Add oil from the sides on the omelette and cook it under medium flame till it turns golden brown and flip it and cook on the other side till it turns golden brown. Hope you like my recipe. thanQ for stopping by. keep visiting.

It is always a big twist in my mind, if I would have to cook any thing for the lunchbox for my hubby. He is just like a small kid. He do not like curries in his box, so I always make vegetable pulav, pulihora or noodles. But this time i wanted to make some thing special and I made eg biryani. He liked it very much and finished it. After he is done with luch, he called me in phone and told me that he liked it very much. If you wanna get such rewards try this recipe. I bet your loved one will be very happy. This is really quick and wonderful dish. You need to keep in mind that egg dum biryani is far different from egg biryani. This is made i vegetable pulav style. Two tastes very different.

Egg Biryani In my Hubbys lunch box

IngredientsBasmati Rice - 2 cupsWater-3cupsEggs - 5Onions - 1 largeTomato chopped-2 bigGinger - 1 inchGarlic - 4 clovesGreen Chillies - 6 to 8 Red Chilli Powder - 1 tbspGaram Masala Powder - 1 tbspCoriander/Cilantro Leaves - 1/4 cupCumin powder-1/2tbspcoriander powder-1tbspRed capsicum and yellow capsicum chopped-1/2cup(optional)batani/green peas-1/4cupCinnamon stick-1 inchBay Leaves - 2Cardamom - 5 Plain Yogurt - 3 tablespoonsShahi Jeera(black cumin) or youc an substitute normal cumin-1/2tbspSalt to tasteOil - 5 teaspoonsDirectionsSoak the basmati rice in water for atleast 45min in a rice cooker. Then take a pan and heat 2tbsp of oil in it. Then add bay leaf, cardamom, cinnamon stick and cumin seeds and wait till they spaltter. Then add onions & green chili and let them cook. When the onions & green chili are half cooked add ginger and garlic saute till raw flavor vanishes. Then add tomato, green peas & capsicum and cook till it turns tender. Mean while boil eggs and keep them aside. Add salt, cumin powder, coriander powder, chili powder, yogurt/curd and garam masala powder. Mix well by adding 3cups of water. Check for the taste, adjust salt. When the mixture comes to boil add coriander leaves, pudina/mint leaves and rice and cook like a normal rice. If you are cooking in a rice cooker then add this entire mixture in it and cook it like a normal rice. When the rice is about to done make slits (longitudinal) on the boiled egg and add it to the rice. Serve hot with perugu chutney/yogurt. I allowed it too cool a little and kept it for lunch box. I made majjiga pulusu(one of the famous curd dish prepared in south india especially in andhra pradesh). I recommend you to drink more water when you had this kind of spicy dishes. It will help your stomoch to balance pH. Hope you like my recipe. :)

Thursday, October 20, 2011

Corn is always my favorite breakfast. I make this recipe very often. It is very much Indian but it is most often made american breakfast. I have learned this from one of my american friend. From the day i tasted it, it became my favorite breakfast. This recipe is very simple. Now coming to the recipe

Method:
Before day mix all the ingredients and pack it in a air tight container and refrigerate it over night. Next day morning microwave all the ingredients with very little water by covering the microwave bowl with plastic wrap. This serves 2. Enjoy with juice. Hope you like my recipe.

Ponganalu are like baked cup cakes, but they are crispy out side and spongy inside. It is the yummy recipe is made with left over dosa batter. It is very simple and easy to prepare snack. kids will love it. To make this recipe you will need a mould/ special skillet. Addition of potato curry in the middle makes them more favorite for kids. They really taste awesome.

Ingredients:
Dosa batter- 2cups
salt to taste
Cumin seeds -1/4ts
Water if required for mixing
Baking powder-1/4tbsp(optional)For stuffing:
Potato 2 large boiled
Green chili paste 3/4 tbsp
1/2 Onion finely grind
Coriander powder 1/2tbsp
Cumin powder 1/4 tbsp
Turmeric pinch( optional)
Salt to taste
Cilantro/ coriander chopped 2 tbspMethod:For stuffing:
Grate the potato with a large pore grater. You can mash it as well but while mashing we get some clumps. Grating will yield more smooth stuffing. Now heat 2 tbsp of oil in a skillet and add grinded onion, ginger garlic paste and keep sauteing till the raw flavor of onion goes away. Then add turmeric, cumin powder, salt and coriander powder and mix well. While all the ingredients are finely done, add potato and cilantro, mix well and turn off the stove. For making Ponganalu/Paniyaram
Mix dosa batter, cumin seeds, salt, baling powder and water together. Heat the special skillet designed for making paniyaram (Available in Indian grocery stores) and add 2drops of oil in each mould and pour batter into mould up to 1/2 and take small amount of potato stuffing in to hand and shape it in to a sphere(size of a big marble), add this stuffing to the center of the batter and cover it with another spoon full of batter. Repeat the process for all other paniyarams and close the lid. When bottom turns brown, turn the other side and close the lid, when the other side is well cooked remove them and serve with chutney you wish. I prefer ground nut chutney/coconut chutney.
Hope you like my recipe

Monday, October 17, 2011

It's all about fall colors, frendz n food. This weekend is so memorable for me as we have been to great smoky mountains with our family friends. These mountains hide all beauty and remain calm. This mountains are to the southern side of Tennessee. They are part of Appalachain trials. The range is home to an estimated 187,000 acres (760 km2) to the east of Mississippi River.
The Park has many miles of hiking trails, including the Appalachian Trail which crosses the park and there are occasional ranger-guided tours.

panaromic view

A drive around Cades Cove, an historic farming valley, is very popular due to the frequency of wildlife. However, due to congestion and "deer jams," the effective speed on this 11 mile (17 km) one-way loop is very slow — allow a few hours.
We took the walking path to the top of Clingmans Dome (6643 feet / 2025 m), it is the highest point in the park, the highest point in Tennessee, and the third highest point east of the Mississippi river. There we watched the beautiful colors of the sky changing while the sun set. Morton Overlook is among the best venues in the Smokies for sunset viewing.
The easiest waterfall hike is 2.5 miles round trip to Laurel Falls. The trail is paved and accessible even to strollers.
US Highway 441 runs north to south through the park connecting Gatlinburg, Tennessee to Cherokee, North Carolina. The road has steep grades and some tunnels as it winds through the mountains. There are many pull offs offering different views of the park, including the road to Clingmans Dome. Traffic on this road can be heavy during the park's busy seasons. But we did not face any trouble with traffic. The visitors were comparatively low. The West Prong of the Little Pigeon River can be accessed from many of the pull offs on the Tennessee side of the highway, and the Oconaluftee River from the North Carolina side.
On bottom line I would say the trip is amazing and memorable. Now coming to the recipe. I made these delicious cup cakes for our trip. Everyone liked them

Method
Take flour, salt, cocoa powder and sugar in a mixing bowl and mix them well. Now take another bowl and add eggs, milk, vanilla essence and melted butter and mix well. Add this mixture to the dry ingredients and beat well till all the mixture is blended throughly. Finally add chocolate chips and raisins to your taste and mix well. Pre heat the oven to 340F and prepare the baking tray. You can line the baking tray with paper liners or spray non stick oil. Pour the mixture to the 2/3 volume of the cup and set in oven for 20-25min. When the cup cakes are done insert a tooth pick and see if it comes out clean cup cakes are done. Take them out allow them to cool to room temperature and apply the frosting you wish to decorate. I decorated with chocolate frosting. Hope you like my recipe.

Saturday, October 15, 2011

Ravva dosa is one of my hubby's favorite breakfast. For me it is favorite fir two reasons, first is it is an instant delicious breakfast and the other reason is that it is easy to prepare. If you are craving for dosa this is perfect for you. Kids will love it too!! Here is the recipe( you can make capsicum dosa in the similar way and you can find it's recipe right here)

Method
Mix all the ingredients except onions with water. The consistency of the batter should be very thin just like buttermilk. Check taste for salt. Heat 2 tbsp oil in a flat pan. Sprinkle hand full of chopped onions on Pan. Now take hand full of batter in hand and sprinkle on a pan to make dosa. Add some oil on to the sides of the dosa and cook till it turns light brown. Flip it and cook other side till it is completely cooked by adding some oil from sides of the dosa. Take out from the pan and serve hot with tomato or palli chutney. Hope you like my recipe.
Tips: use thin spatula for flipping dosa. If you are trying for the first time do not worry practice. If your pan is sticky take and onion and cut it to half and rub it on the pan. This way onion juice creates a non sticky layer on the top of the pan. hope you find these tips useful.
Finally be prepared to clean your stove when you make this dosa...look at mine how awful it became :(

This is the first time I made this wonderful rasam. This tastes awesome. You can try it too!!!A slightly complicated rasam, with all the goodness of arachuvitta sambar but as comforting as a nice, tangy rasam- that is what Mysore rasam is.

Fry all this in a oil until reddish. Grind to a coarse powder. Boil diluted tamarind water with tomatoes, turmeric and salt. Add the powder or paste and then the cooked tur dal. Bring to a boil. When a nice aroma emanates, it is done. Season with mustard, curry leaves and cumin using ghee.